


Bouncing Back

by kernel



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: M/M, The Sentinel Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-05-11 03:20:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5611996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kernel/pseuds/kernel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blair is now a cop but after six months in uniform is he losing his bounce?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bouncing Back

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for The Sentinel Secret Santa fic exchange and my recipient was Patt.  
> Thanks to Bluewolf for beta.

“You still here, Ellison?”

Jim glanced up at the clock. “I lost track of time, Simon. I'm just finishing up here.” He stood and stretched, sweeping up the report he'd been working on and placing it in the out tray.

“You and Sandburg coming to Rafe's party on Saturday?”

“I'll be there, Simon. I can't speak for Sandburg. I've hardly seen him all week since he's been working nights.”

“He doing okay?”

Jim shrugged and picked up his jacket. “He says everything’s fine.”

“But...?”

“I don't know, Simon. He just seems so quiet these days. Subdued. Not his usual self.”

They walked towards the elevator. “Well, maybe the kid is just growing up. He only has four weeks left of his rotation and then he'll be back here, working with you. Enjoy the peace while you can,” said Simon slapping Jim on the back.

Jim smiled slightly and shook his head. He was counting the days till Blair took up his post in Major Crimes. His mandatory six months in uniform had been an unwelcome surprise to both of them but Blair had ploughed through it with dogged determination. Over the months, however, Jim had watched as his lover had morphed from a bright, enthusiastic, long haired anthropology student into a sober, crop haired, world weary patrol man and Jim wasn't sure he liked the change.

* * *

  
Rafe's Christmas party was in full swing when they arrived as Blair had needed some persuasion to go. He had seen very little of the Major Crime gang since he'd started at the Police Academy, at first due to his discomfort over the whole dissertation disaster, and then, as time had passed, his avoidance had left him feeling awkward.

“Hey, Jim. Blair. It's good to see you,” said Rafe, taking the six-pack of beer they had brought.

“Where have you been hiding yourself, Hairboy?” asked Henri.

“You're going to have to find a new nickname, H,” said Rafe, pointing at Blair's cropped curls.

“Nah, you're going to grow it again right, Blair?”

“Don't know, guys. I've kind of got used to it. It saves me at least fifteen minutes in the shower in the morning.”

At the howls of protest and teasing, Jim relaxed. He had tried to assure Blair that any awkwardness or coolness was largely in his head and everyone would be glad to see him. It seemed his friends were proving him right.

“Sandy!”

Jim left Blair to Megan's enthusiastic greeting and moved across the room to join Simon at the table where he was inspecting the snacks.

“You got him here, then,” said Simon nodding across the room.

“Yes, but we're not staying long. We both have a day off tomorrow and we're making an early start and heading out to the National Forest for a hike. I thought it would do us both good to get out of the city.”

Jim tuned in to the conversation across the room.

“You know Blair, Rafe is really looking forward to not being the most junior detective once you join us,” said Henri.

“Oh yes,” agreed Rafe. “I am going to be passing all the grunt work on to the new guy. And I still remember some of the pranks H pulled on me when I first started.”

H gave a wicked laugh. “Oh yeah, babe. Some of those stunts are crying out for a new victim.”

Jim wandered over.  
  
“Jim, the guys are threatening to dump on me,” said Blair in mock alarm.

Jim glared. “Let's get this straight. Blair is my partner and there will be no dumping work on him.” He broke into a grin. “Except by me, of course,” and he patted Blair's cheeks.

Rafe took pity as the others continued to tease Blair about what he could expect in his first weeks.  
“Blair, come and meet my nephew. He's staying with me for the holidays,” said Rafe, leading him across the room.

A small boy was sitting in the corner playing with some toys.

“Christy, this is Blair, who is going to be working with me soon,” said Rafe.

“Hi Christy,” said Blair crouching down beside the boy. “What you got there?”  
  
“These are my new toys Uncle Brian gave me. Do you want to play, Blair?”

“Sure,” said Blair, picking up the figures. “I remember these guys. This is Tigger. This is Pooh...”

“and Rabbit and Piglet and Kanga and Roo and Eeyore,” said the small boy pointing at each of the toys. “I have all the figures.”

“And let me guess. You are Christopher Robin?”

The little boy giggled. “No, I'm Christopher Brian, but we can pretend I'm Christopher Robin. I'm playing Tigger loses his bounce.”

“Huh. So how do we play that?”

“We need a detective. A detective would help Tigger find his bounce straight away. Are you a detective, Blair?”

“No, not exactly. Not right now, anyway. But I soon will be,” said Blair. “So how would a detective help Tigger find his bounce?”

“Detectives solve puzzles and help people. That's what they do. It's the best job in the world. I'm going to be a detective when I grow up,” said Christy. “You need to be real smart and get good grades to be a detective. That's what Uncle Brian says.”

“Your uncle is right,” said Blair, smiling at the eager face. He turned to the rest of the room. “Hey, is there a detective in the house? We've got a case here.”

Christy bounced with excitement as Jim, Henri and Joel made their way over to join them.

“Are you detectives?” asked Christy, “'cos we need one and Blair says he isn't a real detective yet.”

“Sure are,” said Jim, “but we'll need Officer Sandburg's help for he's real smart.”

“So what do we do first, team?” asked Christy, looking around at his audience.

“Well,” said Jim, “first we need a crime report to tell us what's wrong. Then we get statements from everyone involved. Sometimes that's enough to give us an idea what happened.”

Christy nodded. “Tigger doesn't know what happened,” he said. “He just woke up one morning and didn't feel bouncy anymore.”

“Then we'd have to ask his friends what happened,” said Jim. “If they were good friends they would have noticed that Tigger wasn't his usual self and they would want to help.”

Blair shifted uncomfortably. “You want to take statements from our witnesses, Christy?”

“Sure,” said Christy lining up his toys. “This is Eeyore. _Everyone loses their bounce sometime and I never had any to start with_ ,” said Christy in a gloomy tone.

“That was a great Eeyore voice,” said Henri.

The rest of the team were crowding round, drawn to the small boy's antics.

“This is Rabbit. He's the grumpy one, isn't he?” said Simon, picking up the figure and handing it to the boy.

“Rabbit says: _Let's just enjoy the quiet before Tigger gets his bounce back. He was too darned bouncy anyway,_ ” growled Christy.

Everyone laughed.

“You know, Christy, if you change your mind about becoming a detective you should think about becoming an actor,” said Blair.

“Roo says: _Let's all bounce together and Tigger will just catch bounciness off us,_ ” said Christy in a squeak. “Kanga will give Tigger milk and cookies and lots of hugs.”

Just then Megan came across with a plate of pastries. “Sandy, take these off me before I scoff the lot. What did I say?” she asked, as everyone dissolved in laughter around her.

Christy looked round in delight. He hadn't expected the grown ups to enjoy his game so much.  
He jiggled the Pooh figure across the floor to Blair, who was holding Tigger in his lap. “Pooh says: _We need to go an expedition into the woods to find Tigger's bounce._ ”

Simon smirked at Jim. “Oh, Pooh Bear says that, does he? So who's left?” asked Simon. “I'm not sure this has helped us much.”

“Piglet,” said the boy. “He's my favourite because he's very small.” He thought for a moment and then said in his normal voice, “Piglet doesn't think Tigger's bounce is really lost. Tigger just _thinks_ it's lost. Tiggers can't lose their bounce,” he added firmly.

Jim tried to catch Blair's eye but he was lost in thought.

“Rafe, your nephew is going to make a fine detective, one day,” said Simon.

“Everyone, come help me eat up this food. If you don't eat it you're taking it home with you!” said Rafe. People drifted towards the table and busied themselves with the food and drink.

Simon came up behind Blair. “So, Sandburg, we are going to have the pleasure of your company in four weeks.”

“That's right Simon, assuming Captain McCluskey signs me off.”

“That's not going to be a problem. I've heard good things from him,” said Simon.

“Yeah?” Blair smiled in delight. “It can't come soon enough, Simon. After all, I hear it's the best job in the world,” and he waved at Christy who was heading off to bed.

* * *

  
Jim and Blair were among the first to make their excuses and leave. As they walked out to the truck Jim asked, “Are you ready for our hike tomorrow, Chief?”

Blair gave Jim a sideways glance. “You mean our expedition into the woods?”

Jim laughed and put his arm around Blair, pulling him close. He glanced at the drawn curtains behind them and kissed Blair on the cheek.

“You never know, we might even catch us a heffalump.”

* * *

  
They set off before dawn to reach the trail head early and make the most of the daylight. Blair had stumbled into the truck barely half awake and promptly fell asleep. As they left the city behind them Jim could feel himself start to relax. These last few months had been tough for both of them and they needed a chance to reconnect.

When Blair woke he pulled out a book from his rucksack and started to read, squinting in the weak, grey light of the December morning.  
Jim glanced over at Blair. With his glasses on and his head stuck in a book he could almost imagine things were back to how they should be. Frowning, he realised he hadn't seen Blair do much reading since starting with the PD except the occasional police textbook. It was good to see him absorbed in a book again.

“What you reading, Chief?”

“Hmm?” Blair looked up and waved the book at Jim. “It's a Christmas present from Megan; a study of Bigfoot sightings in North America. There is a really interesting section on Native American myths and how they tie in with modern accounts of Bigfoot.”

“You don't believe any of that nonsense, do you?”

“No,” said Blair, slowly. “I think the lack of any palaeontological evidence pretty much nails it. I mean, if there were giant ape-like creatures living undetected in wilderness areas, even supposing they were amazingly adept at remaining undetected, the odd skull or bone should have turned up before now.”

Jim nodded. He pulled the truck into the small car park at the trail head.

“We're here. You want to grab the coffee and sandwiches, Chief. We'll have some breakfast and then set off.”  
  
The day was crisp and clear. The first part of the trail took them steadily upwards through dense woodland. A discussion about lost hikers had led Blair on to the topic of animal navigation and theories about bird migration and bee behaviour.

“Blair, if you're planning to lecture me on 'The Birds and the Bees', I have to tell you I have that stuff covered,” said Jim.

Blair rolled his eyes and swatted him. “Jerk.”

Jim laughed and swung his arm around Blair's shoulders, pleased that his partner was looking brighter and more animated than he had for months. He took a deep breath. “You know I always had an excellent sense of direction. It wasn't till ranger training that I realised not everyone could always tell due North.”

Blair looked at him. “You mean like an in built compass?”

“I guess,” said Jim. “We could test it some time.”

Blair was silent. “Maybe the middle of winter on an isolated trail isn't the best time to be throwing away the map,” he said finally.

Jim shrugged. “Just another hour of this and then it levels out a bit. The views of Mount Baker are well worth it.”

* * *

  
“Oh boy, you weren't kidding,” said Blair later, as they reached the viewpoint. “I can see for miles. Let's stop here for lunch and enjoy the view.”

They found somewhere to sit and shared out the food and water, content to enjoy the stillness and beauty of the wilderness.

Jim hesitated. “You want to test my vision here, Blair?”  
  
Blair gave him an odd look. “Sure, go for it, man. Why don't you look over towards the mountains.”

Jim extended his gaze. “I can make out the chair lifts. Mostly running empty. I guess they are having a slow start to the season.”

“That's pretty impressive, Jim. What about looking down at the forest?”

“You want me to try and find Bigfoot for you, Chief?”

“Knock yourself out, man, but I don't think the big guy gets spotted unless he wants to be,” said Blair, grinning.

“I don't see or hear anything bigger than a cougar for miles,” said Jim studying the surrounding forest. “Though I did catch a whiff of some rotting animal smell from the North West, a dead bear perhaps.”

Blair took a long swallow of water. “Okay, Jim. What gives? You never volunteered to test your senses when I actually needed the data. Now we're finished with all that suddenly you're eager to do tests? You're not having problems with your senses, are you?”

“No, nothing like that, Blair. I just thought it was a good idea. Too little, too late, I guess,” said Jim softly.

Blair reached out and squeezed his hand. “Not too late. More like too soon. I know you are trying to give me something here, Jim. I appreciate it. I do. But I am trying to commit to this police thing. The diss, my research, I need to put all that stuff behind me.”

“Maybe it doesn't have to be so clear cut,” said Jim.

Blair shrugged and tried to change the subject. “You know, some researchers have suggested that sasquatch has enhanced senses and that's how he manages to avoid human contact.”

Jim whipped his head round to glare at Blair. “Hold it right there, Sandburg. I've only just got over the caveman jibe; now you are calling me a sasquatch?”

“Jim, man. I did not call you a sasquatch. Logical fallacy, there. I said sasquatch may have enhanced senses. You have enhanced senses. That doesn't mean you are a sasquatch or sasquatch is a sentinel.”

“Well, that's what it sounded like to me,” said Jim, standing and striding away.

Blair jumped up and followed. He darted ahead of Jim, turning to face him and walking backwards.

“So, you've only _just_ got over the caveman thing? That's great, Jim. So what, another four years and you might get over the sasquatch thing. Not that I did call you a sasquatch,” he added, waving his hand to emphasise the point.

Jim just stared at him impassively.

“Or you could just be the bigger man here and let it go,” said Blair laughing.

Jim's stony face started to crack. “The bigger man?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows. “I thought you claimed that was observer bias.”

Blair grinned. “Observer bias? Listen to you, with the science talk.”

“Well, I live with this scientist. It kind of rubs off on you,” said Jim, pulling Blair into a hug.

Blair looked up at him. “Lived,” he corrected.

“Why, you going somewhere?” asked Jim mildly, bringing up his hands around Blair's head and holding him close.

Blair gave him a searching glance but Jim was looking steadily back at him, eyes warm, and supremely unworried. “Idiot,” he said. “Scientist. Past tense.”

“Oh, right,” said Jim nodding. “So because you're not drawing a pay check from Rainier that changes the whole way you see and interact with the world? Blair, I really admire the way you have thrown yourself into police work but you don't need to cut off that part of yourself. You have never stopped being a scientist, because that's who you are. And I happen to like who you are; all of who you are.”

Blair looked at him, eyes glistening, as their lips met and Jim showed how much he meant those words.

* * *

  
It was some time later when Jim looked at the sky, “That rain storm is going to hit us in about two hours. We ought to start heading down.

Jim set off at a brisk pace.

“Hey Jim, slow down. If I turn an ankle we'll have a tough time getting back to the truck.”

Jim shrugged. “We could always build a shelter and camp out for the night.”

“No way.” Blair shook his head.

“You afraid of bears, Sandburg?”  
  
“No, man. I'd face a bear any day over Captain McCluskey if I don't show up for my shift tomorrow at 07.45.”

Jim laughed. He had heard plenty about Blair's opinion of Captain McCluskey. “Come on, Blair. You worked for Simon. How bad can he be?”

“I'm telling you, Simon is a pussy cat compared to McCluskey.”

“Just four more weeks and you will be working for that pussy cat again. I'll be sure and tell him that,” said Jim with a wicked gleam.

* * *

  
They reached the truck just as the first rain started to fall.

“Great timing. Amazing sense of timing, in fact.” Blair hesitated. “Maybe we could look into that, sometime. Do some tests.”

Jim beamed. “Sure thing, Chief. We'll come back here in the spring. Do some camping.”

“Yeah, I bet the fishing is great up here. We could do some tests on your sense of direction as well. Check out that birds and bees thing.”

“Actually,” said Jim, pausing as he climbed into the truck and throwing Blair a heated look, “I was thinking we could work on that 'Birds and Bees' stuff back at home.”  
  
Blair grinned. “I'm good with that.”

* * *

  
Epilogue

As the last strains of the truck's engine faded into the distance, a dark shape emerged from the depths of the forest into the clearing. The creature shambled round the viewpoint, growing increasingly agitated. He stood still, head cocked and sniffed. He filtered out the foul smell of the humans and their food. There was something else, an alluring scent that he couldn't quite place. Brow furrowed in confusion, he searched through his scent memories. Nothing. He searched further back: back through leather hides curing on camp-fire smoke, back through the long cold, back to a time when his kind was plentiful.

When the memory came he stiffened with shock. Overcome with grief for all his tribe had lost, he let out an anguished howl that reverberated through the wilderness.

_Guide._

* * *

  



End file.
